A REPORT into the air crash in which the heir to the Slazenger sportswear brand and his passenger were killed has found the aircraft wing struck a tree prior to the crash.
Dr Michael Slazenger (69), a retired anaesthetist, was attempting to land his single-engine aircraft at a private airstrip on his Powerscourt estate when it crashed on April 10th last year.
In its report, published yesterday, the Department of Transport’s air accident investigation unit says that during the final stages of the approach for landing, Dr Slazenger initiated a “go-around”, discontinuing his approach before climbing away to a safe altitude.
The report says it was during this go-around that the left wing of the aircraft struck a tree beyond the end of grass runway.
The report finds that following a series of subsequent ground impacts, the aircraft came to rest in an inverted position in an adjacent field where it caught fire. Dr Slazenger, who was airlifted to Tallaght hospital, died two days later. Passenger Noel Whitney (66) was pronounced dead at the scene.
While the report notes the pilot had a “significant amount of general flying experience” and the aircraft had undergone an inspection just a month before the crash, a member of the investigation team noted the wind was “very variable” at the time of the crash.
Stating that while the reason for the pilot’s decision to carry out a go-around cannot be determined with certainty, the report says it was possible Dr Slazenger may have become aware of “a higher than expected groundspeed due to a tailwind, or of an unexpected increase in the tailwind”.
The report says a decision to initiate a go-around would have been “prudent” in such circumstances.
